A message from Dylan Cullen, President of the Student Government Association, Environmental Policy, Champlain College 2017

PAUSE for a minute.  Take some time to think about what Champlain College would look like with a thriving, engaged, and present activist community.

What kinds of futures would this make possible for the College? When I envision Champlain College’s future, I see more students being engaged in initiatives that they care deeply about. I see problems being approached from innovative, action-oriented perspectives that represent all stakeholders and voices. I see students who are happier, feel empowered in their ability to effect tangible change, and who willingly give their time and energy in support of others.I am pleased to introduce you to PAUSE, a new campus organization centered around student activism and community engagement. PAUSE stands for People Advocating and Uniting for Social Equity, and our mission is dedicated to educating, informing, and inspiring other members of the Champlain College community to pause, to question societal systems and their oppressive potential, and then take action to create positive social change on campus, communal, and global scales.

We also happen to think that art (performance, visual, spoken word, etc.) is an innovative medium with which we can galvanize others to action. Students in PAUSE will work to develop projects and initiatives that are of interest to them, and they will have the artistic autonomy to find the best ways to introduce this topic to the Champlain College and Greater Burlington communities. However, students do not need to to artistic to participate. The only qualification is a fire in their heart and a willingness to do what is tough in the name of what is just.

I encourage you to become engaged with PAUSE. Let others know that PAUSE will be launching in the Fall of 2015, and that we are currently looking for motivated students to join on that are willing to work hard with like-minded people to serve our community in creative ways that address pervasive societal issues. I also encourage and invite you to be involved on a more direct level. If you are interested in being a member of a board of faculty and staff that help guide and inspire the students in PAUSE, please reach out to me about your interest. Faith Yacubian, the Faculty Advisor for PAUSE, and I would love to be able to work with you further.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about PAUSE. It’s easy to fall into the ebb and flow of routine in our day to day lives, but we hope that when you see our activists around campus, you will pause and think for a moment about the issue at hand.If you  would like to learn more about PAUSE, I would be more than happy to visit your class to answer any questions. Feel free to pass along my contact information to any interested person. Additionally, the following link is to a public Google Doc (anyone with the link can access without a sign in), which includes more information: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ml2XKlxZjN717M1TSD41fMmYu-Mgv2al1LLBg_3WPAQ/edit?usp=sharing

Stay radical, and thank you again.

For the Mission and Values Statement, click here